Four lion cubs orphaned during the war in Ukraine have landed on US soil after a Minnesota animal sanctuary offered them a permanent home.
Three females and a male, aged between four and five months, had been housed at Poznan Zoo in Poland after surviving bombings and drone attacks in Ukraine.
“These cubs have endured more in their short lives than any animal should,” said Meredith Whitney, rescue programme manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, one of several groups working to save animals from the war.
“They were born at breeding facilities in Ukraine during the war and then orphaned at a few weeks old.”
Ukrainians fleeing with their pets - in pictures
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A girl carries her dog as people wait in Medyka, Poland, after crossing the border from Ukraine. Reuters -
Stepan is carried by its owner to the train heading to Poland at the main train station in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty -
A Ukrainian refugee sits with her pets at a holiday village turned into a temporary shelter in Goren, northern Israel. AFP -
A woman carrying an animal in a pet basket arrives in Przemysl, Poland, on March 23, 2022, after a train journey from Ukraine. Getty -
Samir Khuder, Anna Ponomaryova and their dog, Fedya, enjoy the fresh air after a night spent in the basement they used as a bomb shelter after a rocket hit a shopping mall in Kyiv. Getty -
Anna Ponomaryova feeds her dog, Fedya, in the basement under the residential building used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv. Getty -
Cats from an evacuated shelter in Kyiv are housed temporarily in Lviv. The shelter, called House of the Rescued Animals, was dealing with wild animals before the war. Now it has become a stopover for hundreds of pets brought here from more dangerous areas before being sent to safety in the EU. Getty -
A volunteer plays with a cat inside a cage in Lviv. Getty -
A volunteer pets a cat at a shelter in Lviv. Getty -
A man pets a dog as Ukrainian refugees cross into Moldova, near the village of Palanca. EPA -
A girl kisses her pet rodent outside a five-storey residential building, part of which collapsed after a shelling. AFP -
In Nadarzyn, Poland, a vet examines the cat of a Ukrainian refugee. Vets working for a centre that receives refugees examine, vaccinate and issue health certificates for pets that the people fleeing Ukraine bring with them. AP -
A Ukrainian woman holds her dog as she waits along others at Dacia Camp, near Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, before heading to the airport to board a plane to Israel. AFP -
A woman who fled Mariupol pets a cat onboard a bus at the Veselo-Voznesenka border point in Rostov, Russia. EPA -
Ukrainians Oria Oscaria and her brother Ego with their pet dog after arriving in Cizur Menor, northern Spain. AP -
A veterinary clinic in eastern Poland has set up a rescue service for the pets left behind in Ukraine during the war. It has already helped to rescue more than 400 animals, including this baby goat. AP -
A dog collected in Ukraine is prepared for surgery for serious injuries to its hind legs at the Ada veterinary clinic in Przemysl, Poland. AP -
A woman carries a pet dog as people who fled Ukraine walks through the border checkpoint near the Moldovan town of Palanca. AFP -
An internally displaced woman pets a cat at a schoolyard in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP -
A sedated dog collected in Ukraine undergoes an X-ray before surgery for serious injuries to its hind legs at the Ada veterinary clinic in Przemysl, Poland. AP -
A man holds Sascha, a baby goat with deformed hooves rescued from Ukraine, at the Ada veterinary clinic in Przemysl, Poland. AP -
A child on a bus for refugees pets a cat in Lviv, Ukraine. Reuters -
Antonina, 84, sits in a wheelchair and holds her 12 dogs at a triage point in Kyiv after fleeing Irpin. AP -
Nina, who fled Ukraine for Moldova, holds a her cat inside a pet carrier at the border crossing in Palanca, Moldova. AP -
A Ukrainian refugee who fled the Russian invasion of her country sits with her pet at a holiday village turned into temporary refuge in Goren, northern Israel. AFP
Stefania, Lesya, Prada and Taras landed on Tuesday in Minneapolis and were greeted by staff at the Wildcat Sanctuary, then taken to the centre for a check-up and tour of their new home.
The sanctuary is in Sandstone, about 145km north of Minneapolis, and the flight was funded in part by the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation in New York.
Dr Andrew Kushnir, who accompanied the cubs on their flight, cared for them in Ukraine and Poland.
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Natalya Lutsenko, technologist at the Mariupol Wildlife Park, feeds a newborn lion cub in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. AP -
Two newborn lion cubs were abandoned there by the previous owners. AP -
Ms Lutsenko holds a newborn lion cub. AP -
Zoo animals represent a small portion of the collateral damage caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AP -
A recently born African lion cub crawls around during a medical check at the Sudan Animal Rescue Centre in Al Bageir, near the country's capital Khartoum. EPA -
Osman Salih, founder of the Sudan Animal Rescue Centre, holds a lion cub during a medical check. EPA -
The rescue mission started by Mr Salih was initially financed by his own savings. EPA -
Mr Salih pets a lioness at the facility. AFP -
Twin lion cubs Albi and Leo take their first steps outdoors at Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, Belgium. Reuters -
Two newborn white lions lay in their cage at the Zoo of Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. EPA -
A four-month-old lion cub is shown to the public for the first time at Sri Lanka’s Ridiyagama Safari Park. AFP -
Newly born Barbary lion cubs rest inside their enclosure at Dvur Kralove Zoo in Dvur Kralove nad Labem, Czech Republic. Reuters -
A white lion cub born in Turkey appears during World Lion Day, which was announced to draw attention to the declining lion population. Getty Images -
A white lion cub born in Turkey. Getty Images -
Five-day-old lion cubs at a safari park in Belogorsk, Russia. Reuters -
A Palestinian man carries a lion cub to show to children in Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Two lion cubs are carried through the streets of Al Shaboura refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. EPA -
Three newborn lion cubs in a cardboard box at Nama zoo in Gaza city. AP -
A zoo employee helps a lioness clean her newborn lion cub at Nama zoo. AP -
In the past, a number of animals in small private Gaza zoos have starved to death or have been killed in the long-running conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. AP -
Nama is operated by a private charity, putting it in a slightly better position than other zoos that often struggle to provide for their animals. AP -
Schools organise daily trips to the zoo and the entry fee is less than $1, helping to cover costs. AP -
A worker holds lion cubs outside their cage at a zoo in Yemen's south-western city of Taiz. Reuters -
A month-old liliger cub walks in Novosibirsk Zoo in Russia. The cubs' mother is Zita, a liger, and their father is a lion. AP
Despite drone attacks and air strikes, Dr Kushnir prepared their special formula every three hours, the fund said.
On nights when the power went out, he used his arms and legs to warm their milk bottles.
The non-profit Wildcat Sanctuary shelters almost 130 lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards and other wildcats, many of which were rescued from the trade in exotic pets, including the four cubs.
To assure peace and tranquility for the cats, it does not put them on public display, but lets them roam fenced enclosures in the woods of Minnesota.
The sanctuary does offer virtual tours on its website and Facebook page.
